THE ISLAND OF PERPETUAL TICKLING

When critique is said to “tickle” it suggests that it provokes lightly, but is equally understood to be mostly free of significant consequences. In an ideal situation, tickling is consensual, it means no harm and respects the boundaries of the ticklee… either out of affection or dependence. It thus seems a great metaphor for much of “Critical Art” that frequently exists foremost in order to fulfil the tickler with a sense of agency and action independent of any actual intent to dismantle the structures that hold them. Art institutions on the other hand need the artist-tickler because it proves impossible to tickle oneself – another is required whose movements are not entirely predictable. The art system as an island of perpetual tickling… But do art and critique really “tickle” in the sense that actual tickling can tickle?

Being tickled can trigger trauma moving across the skin… while being ticklish might be a necessary vulnerability preserved by the individual in order to be alive in the world. “Are you ticklish?”

The District Berlin Performance THE ISLAND OF PERPETUAL TICKLING is dedicated to these questions and more.